Kurt Shintaku's Blog

This is a FREE two-day SQL Server 2008 Upgrade and Application Compatibility Lab (AppCompat) event (a $1500 value). AppCompat labs are being conducted at the Microsoft Technology Centers and are being offered to select customers who are considering upgrading to SQL Server 2008.

This special AppCompat lab event will give you the chance to migrate your SQL Server 2000 / 2005 database to SQL Server 2008 in order to help you proactively identify upgrade compatibility issues before SQL Server 2008 is commercially available and to work with our SQL Architects in order to resolve upgrade issues. See the attached document for additional information.

Overview and Benefits
Participation in a SQL Server 2008 Upgrade and Application Compatibility Lab (a.k.a AppCompat lab) offers the following benefits:

• Learn the technical advantages of upgrading your SQL Server 2000/2005 database application to SQL Server 2008
• Learn critical tools and methodologies used to test applications for compatibility with and plan upgrades for SQL Server 2008
• Interact directly with members of the lab team to troubleshoot upgrade and compatibility issues
• Identify specific deployment and application related compatibility issues you may encounter when upgrading your existing SQL Server 2000/2005 applications to SQL Server 2008 so they may be addressed
• Compare the baseline behavior and performance characteristics of database operations performed by your SQL Server 2000/2005 application with the same operations performed on SQL Server 2008
• Brainstorm ways to exploit new features and capabilities in SQL Server 2008

Prerequisites
The following prerequisites must be met in order to participate in an AppCompat lab:

• Participants must have an existing SQL Server 2000/2005 database application running in production (a.k.a. target application)
• Participants must have basic operational familiarity with SQL Server Management Studio and SQL Server Profiler
• Participants must create a workload (a.k.a. playback) of your existing application exactly according to the specifications defined in the document entitled “SQL Server 2008 Upgrade and Application Compatibility Lab Prerequisite Guide”.  Adherence to these specifications is crucial to ensuring a successful lab engagement. 
• Participants are encouraged to bring a functional installation of the target application pre-installed on either a laptop or virtual machine
• Participants are encouraged to bring a functional development environment and source code of the target application pre-installed on either a laptop or virtual machine

Participants will be sent instructions on how to download the tools and documentation necessary to complete the participant pre-requisites.

Who Should Attend
The AppCompat lab is designed for the following technical roles.

• Service / Testing Professionals responsible for planning upgrades of the target application
• Database and Application Developers responsible for the target application source code
• Database Administrators and/or Database Architects responsible for certifying platforms for the target application

The AppCompat lab is just one of many opportunities available to customers and partners to enhance technical readiness for SQL Server 2008.  Please contact your Microsoft representative if you want to learn more about these other opportunities. 

The AppCompat lab is not designed for sales, marketing and management professionals.  Companies with a target application that meet the following criteria may not benefit from participating in an AppCompat lab.

• Target application is already natively designed for SQL Server 2008
• Target application does not currently support SQL Server 2000/2005
• Target application was recently included in the SQL Server Playback Test Program
• Target application has no direct dependency on SQL Server 2000/2005 relational database engine

Upgrade Scenarios Covered
The AppCompat lab provides testing tools, methodologies and guidance for the following upgrade scenarios:

• Analysis of database operations generated by your SQL Server 2000/2005 application for compatibility with SQL Server 2008 syntax and metadata
• Simple database upgrade of your SQL Server 2000/2005 database to SQL Server 2008
• Analysis of query behavior and performance characteristics of your SQL Server 2000/2005 application after it has been upgraded to SQL Server 2008

Due to technical and resource constraints, testing for the following upgrade scenarios are not performed at the AppCompat lab:

• Upgrade of SQL Server 2000/2005 SQL Agent Jobs to SQL Server 2008 SQL Agent Jobs
• Upgrade of SQL Server 2000/2005 Maintenance Plans to SQL Server 2008 Maintenance Plans
• Upgrade of SQL Server 2000/2005 Replication installations to SQL Server 2008
• Upgrade of SQL Server 2000 Data Transformation Services or SQL Server 2005 Integration Services to SQL Server 2008 Integration Services
• Upgrade of SQL Server 2000/2005 Analysis Services to SQL Server 2008 Analysis Services
• Upgrade of SQL Server 2000/2005 Reporting Services to SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services
• Upgrade of SQL Server 2000/2005 Notification Services
• Due to technical and resource limitations, certain playbacks are not well suited for testing in an AppCompat lab environment.  Please see the document entitled “SQL Server 2008 Upgrade and Application Compatibility Lab Prerequisite Guide” for details on how to capture a quality playback.

AGENDA:
Day 1 Agenda

• 09:00 – 09:30: General Session: Welcome and Logistics
• 09:30 – 12:00: Breakout: Upgrade Testing
• 12:00 – 13:00: Lunch
• 13:00 – 16:00: Breakout: Upgrade Testing
• 16:00 – 17:00: General Session: Status and Results Comparison

Day 2 Agenda

• 09:00 – 12:00: Breakout: Upgrade Testing
• 12:00 – 13:00: Lunch
• 13:00 – 16:00: Breakout: Upgrade Testing
• 16:00 – 17:00: General Session: Submit Results

Questions and Contact Information
If you have questions regarding participation in an AppCompat lab event, please use the following email address:  sqlapplb@microsoft.com

Date/Time:
Sept 25-26th 8:30AM-5:00PM (2 days)

Location:
Microsoft Technology Center
3 Park Plaza
Suite 1800 Irvine California 92614

Registration:
If you are interested in participating and you are a customer of mine, please let me know and I will send you registration information.  Note:  This is an invite-only event for our named Enterprise customers.  Individuals registering that are not a Enterprise customer supported directly by Microsoft will be bumped off the list if the class is full.

Today we are announcing the availability of the next generation of Zune.   This release combines two very important things:

1) A free software-and-services update, which will work on any of the existing Zune family of devices, as well as the new devices we are bringing to market to round out our hardware family.

2) Key new hardware device options, including new capacities, new colors, and new prices.

From its inception, Zune has been about community-powered music discovery, and this release makes what we think is some amazing progress in giving customers the tools to have an immersive, compelling and connected music and entertainment experience across their Zune devices, their PCs and the web.

MP3 players have historically been pretty “static” devices … if you want to get new content, you have to acquire it yourself, manually.  With Zune 3.0, we are aiming to bring the new-music discovery of today’s FM or Satellite Radio to an MP3 device… rather than always having to manually choose music yourself, the ZUNE SERVICE can help choose it for you, automatically, so it’s available anytime you want it.

Some of the cool features that deliver on this idea and which are AVAILABLE NOW include:

• Buy From FM. Every Zune comes with an FM radio – and now you can use FM broadcasts to discover new songs for your music collection.   Using RDS and RT+ data feeds from thousands of radio stations around the country, you can see song information while you are listening and tag the song for download the next time you sync your Zune. 
  
• Channels. Channels are an exciting new tool for music discovery – like a “radio station” that automatically syncs to your device so it’s available for listening offline.  You can subscribe to channels programmed by experts from the music industry (eg., the Billboard Top 100, FADER magazine and KEXP radio playlists) or choose top “chart-channels” from all genres and sub-genres in our marketplace. Zune’s powerful software-service will even create custom channels for you, based on your favorite artists and genres. 
  
• Wireless streaming and download from the cloud. Taking our wireless functionality to the next level, you can now connect your Zune device directly to the marketplace over your home network or any one of tens-of-thousands of wifi hotspots across the country—including around 9,800 McDonalds restaurants.  Access new releases, top tracks and albums, or search for an artist or track. And when you find it, you can not only download it directly but with the Zune Pass subscription stream it directly to your Zune.
  
• Personal Picks. When you browse to Zune Marketplace, you’ll find a new area called ‘Picks’ where Zune’s recommendation algorithm will suggest artists, albums and tracks based on the music you have been listening to, as well as offer channels created explicitly for you and a list of listeners-like-you from the Zune Social.
  
• PC Software that’s Powerful and Fun To Use. The Zune PC software is simply one of the best media and entertainment experiences you can have on Windows. It provides rich discovery and media management capabilities to make the most of your existing music collection, in addition to providing access to the Zune Social and Zune Marketplace.
  
  • Mixview. Select an artist, album or Zune Card to activate a dynamic, visual mosaic of related music and listeners (screenshot below at left). With each click users can take the view in a new direction, creating a fun, graphical way to discover new music. Mixview works with users’ current collection of music, in addition to tracks and albums from across the Zune Marketplace.
    
  • Now Playing. The improved “Now Playing” view is more interactive and cinematic. Just sit back and enjoy our combination of great artist imagery, colorful effects, bio information and data from the Zune online music community… all combined in a full screen view.  At anytime you can click to dive deeper into the music behind the picture; providing another great way to interact with your collection. 

In addition to the amazing software and services updates, we now support Games and Audiobooks on devices and are not standing still on the hardware itself.   We introduce:

• a stunning blue 8 GB device,
• a new 16 GB glossy black with a black metal back, and…
• a 120 GB black-on-black that round out our hardware selection nicely.

This is a great milestone for Microsoft and the Zune team, and I know you are all looking forward to getting your hands on the new devices and software.  Stop by one of our retail partners to pick up the device that’s right for you, OR visit www.zuneoriginals.net where there are even more colors available and where you can customize a Zune just for you.

Thanks!

– The Zune Team

WHAT’S NEW:
http://www.zune.net/en-us/whatsnew.htm

DOWNLOAD:
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=104738 (165.2MB)

Complimentary Microsoft Office 2007 Desktop Deployment Training for Enterprise Customers
October 21-22,2008 9AM-5PM
Microsoft Irvine 3 Park Plaza, Suite 1600, Irvine CA 92614

Join the Deploying and Managing Microsoft Office 2007 in the Enterprise workshop to learn about new tools and technologies to deploy the 2007 Microsoft® Office system. In this instructor-led, 2-day event, you will receive practical technical information and proven techniques necessary to design, customize, and deploy an Office 2007 installation in your environment. You will become familiar with the technical tools and resources required to better plan your organization’s deployment.

This demo-style workshop is targeted for IT Professionals responsible for the deployment, maintenance, and troubleshooting of Office installations. Application-specific and/or help desk-type issues are not included in the scope of this offering.

Courseware includes information related to:

• Preparing to Deploy Office 2007
• Customizing an Office 2007 Installation
• Upgrading to Office 2007
• Selecting an Office 2007 Enterprise Deployment Method
• Maintaining and Updating Office 2007
• General Q & A

Workshops are delivered by members of the Office Proactive Services team. They are senior Customer Service & Support (CSS) escalation leads who possess a strong knowledge of current and previous Office client deployment technologies/troubleshooting, migration, and best practices. Team members have years of experience resolving Office support issues, working escalations that lead to product improvements, consulting with customers across the globe, and delivering workshops.

Date:
Oct 21-22

Time:
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Location:
Microsoft Office
3 Park Plaza 16^th floor
Irvine, CA 92614

Registration:
This event is invitation only.  If you are a customer of mine and are interested in attending, please contact me and I will send registration information to you.  Non-named Enterprise customers (customers directly supported by Microsoft locally) that choose to register will be bumped from the registration list in deference to named accounts.

Assuming that you use RSS feeds in some capacity, (and even if you don’t) I thought you might be interested in this aggregator that we created specifically to collect new blog & news posts from dozens in not just Microsoft resources but also other industry luminaries around virtualization. There is no moderation of the content and the site is updated in real time.

Give it a shot!

LINK:
http://www.virtualizationfeed.com/

There’s a really really cool thing that the Rare, the makers of Viva Pinata, did with the recent release of “Viva Pinata Trouble in Paradise”:  They included the ability to obtain Pinatas by trading cards.

There’s a two-dimentional bar code on the Pinata Vision Cards that your Xbox Vision Camera can identify in the game.  Hold a print out of the card to the camera and BOING!  A brand new Pinata will show up for your personal use!

We’ve created a treasure hunt giving you the chance to unlock exclusive Piñata colour schemes. Scattered throughout Xbox.com are 25 hidden ‘Piñata Vision’ cards. Look for [the] hidden logo around the site. Clicking on it reveals a code readable by your Xbox LIVE Vision camera. Simply point your camera at the code (on screen or printed out) to unlock killer Piñata paintjobs and cool accessories. Happy hunting – the chance to pimp your Horstachio is just a few clicks away.

What exactly do they look like once you “open them up”?  Well, here’s an example of one of them, to the left, also known as “Hedgehog”:

Now if you print out the card and hold it up to the Xbox Live Vision Camera connected to you Xbox 360 WHILE PLAYING VIVA PINATA TROUBLE IN PARADISE, or you actually hold up your Xbox Live Vision Camera to the screen of your computer, the camera will be able to interpret the bar code and produce the Pinata depicted in the picture.  If you have trouble with the camera, check this video out.

So where do you get these Vision Cards?  If you go to the the UK Xbox.com web site they’re doing a contest right now where you have to look for these hidden eggs on the web site.  They’ll lead you to special downloadable .PDF files that contain the special Vision Card with the bar code.  There’s supposed to be 25 hidden all over the web site!  (I’ve only been able to find 13 though)

Supposedly there will be card decks as well of Pinata Vision Cards that will be tradable and usable across multiple systems.  And before you get all antsy about it “costing money”, don’t worry:  The Pinata Vision Cards are FREE.  There’s nothing to buy.  The only question is “who’s going to have the most Pinatas!”

IMPORTANT NOTE:
Something that they apparently left out is the fact that in order for you to use the Xbox Vision Camera with VP Trouble in Paradise and use your Vision Pinata Cards, you must be at least at level 4 otherwise the camera won’t work.  When you’re in your garden, once your at level 4, you’ll be able to put the cards in front of the camera to obtain the new pinatas.

Apparently a year or so ago, Xbox.com produced a 24 page color guide that you can download called “Play Smart, Play Safe:  A Family Guide to Video Gaming”.  (Yes, I only just found it now)

This guide aims to give you all the information you need, as parents, about computer and video games. It will give you details of the age rating system which is used in most of the European Union as well as instructions on how to use the parental control features on Microsoft products, as well as other important information and tips.

DOWNLOAD:
http://www.xbox.com/NR/rdonlyres/4D051EC4-7FA8-4A70-9ADB-C2F873B80892/0/ENGB_Guide.pdf

And for those of you resistant to… uh… reading, there’s a video available for you to check out that’s about 6 minutes long that shows you how to set up the Xbox 360 family settings and control how much your child plays… even set a “timer allocation” down to the minute of how much game time your child gets daily.

VIDEO:
http://www.xbox.com/NR/rdonlyres/
8ECF818E-B4F8-4497-86DB-2F6708C66116/0/
vidPlaySmartPlaySafehi.asx

FREE Microsoft Application Virtualization – Hands-On Workshop

Looking to transform the way you manage your desktops? Using Microsoft Application Virtualization will enable applications to run without the need to visit a desktop, laptop, or terminal server. Since applications are no longer installed on the client there is minimal impact on the host operating system or other applications.

Join us for a half day as you’ll learn how to improve PC manageability, accelerate and simplify desktop deployments and migrations, and enhance change management.

Lab seats are limited! Register today!

Workshop topics include:

• Overview of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack for Software Assurance
• System requirements for Microsoft Application Virtualization
• Microsoft Application Virtualization client overview
• Microsoft Application Virtualization management console overview
• License tracking and enforcement with Microsoft Application Virtualization
• Packaging and deploying applications with Microsoft Application Virtualization               
• Questions & Answers

Audience:
This hands-on lab is for IT Professionals in job roles such as infrastructure specialists, network administrators, directory administrators, management specialists, and client support. This hands-on workshop is limited to 15 attendees.

Date/Time:
November 13, 2008
9:00 AM – 11:30 AM
Registration begins at 8:30 AM
(breakfast and parking included)

Location: 
Microsoft Irvine
3 Park Plaza
Suite 1600
Irvine, CA 92614

Registration:
This event is “invitation only” meaning that it’s only available for my customers.  Please contact me for registration information if you would like to attend.

Okay first of all, if you need information on what the Professional Developers Conference 2008 is, check out http://www.microsoftpdc.com.

PDC2008 Dates and Location
WHEN:
October 27-30, 2008
Pre-cons October 26, 2008
WHERE:
Los Angeles Convention Center (http://www.lacclink.com/), Los Angeles, CA
REGISTER:
http://www.microsoftpdc.com/Registration/

Now, with that being said, the gig costs $2395 to register being that it’s one of the most information packed events we throw. 

So, it turns out that you can use your Premier Support hours to purchase registration passes to the PDC.  (It does not cover other parts of the conference such as pre-conference sessions or guest passes to the attendee party)

Your Premier Technical Account Manager will know how to convert hours to PDC passes.  Information was sent to all of them on this topic.  Naturally all conversions of hours to PDC registrations must be approved by your company’s manager of the Premier Support contract.  Contact them for more information on how to proceed. 

WARNING:  This must happen before October 24th, 2008 or the date thatthe PDC conference registers as full.  (And that usually happens way before October 24th)

We released the following content to the press and so I’m making it available here on the blog but basically, the two major elements made available were the Fact Sheet that summarizes all the “new benefits” of Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 along with an “Evaluator’s Guide” that I’m posting to my SkyDrive storage for you to download.

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Windows Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2
Fact Sheet
August 2008

Windows Internet Explorer 8 is the next version of the world’s most popular browser that optimizes developer and end-user experiences to provide a window to the Web of online services. Moreover, Internet Explorer 8 offers new features and functionality that enable customers to reach beyond the page in more secure, easier and faster ways than ever. Following are brief descriptions of the key new and enhanced features in Internet Explorer 8. Features that are new in beta 2 or have been significantly improved since beta 1 are noted with an asterisk (*).

Faster, Easier Web Browsing
Internet Explorer 8 makes great strides in both features and performance improvements that provide faster day-to-day browsing. Many ways in which Internet Explorer 8 makes browsing faster and easier include these:

• Smart Address Bar*. In addition to matching URLs in the user’s site history, the Smart Address Bar in Internet Explorer 8 matches what a user types in the Address Bar with titles in the history as well as content in their favorites and feeds, making it easier to locate sites the user wants to visit.
• Enhanced Find On Page. Find On Page functionality has been enhanced to improve how users search for text on Web pages.
  • Find On Page. Find On Page now appears as a toolbar activated by pressing Ctrl-F or choosing Find On Page from the Edit menu or Instant Search Box. The toolbar appears below the user’s tab so it doesn’t obscure any of the text on the page.
  • Result count. The enhanced Find On Page functionality shows the user how many places the search text appears on the page.
  • Result highlighting. The enhanced Find On Page functionality highlights all places on the page where the search text appears so users can locate them at a glance.
• Redesigned New Tab Page. The New Tab Page in Internet Explorer 8 has been redesigned to allow the user to perform common tasks by clicking links on the New Tab Page.
• Tab Groups*. When one tab is opened from another, the new tab is placed next to the originating tab, and both are marked with a colored tab, so users can quickly discern which tabs have related content.
• Reopen last browsing session*. Internet Explorer 8 enables users to reopen their last browsing session from the most recently closed instance of Internet Explorer, which is useful if the user accidentally closes the browser.

Faster, Easier Deployment and Manageability for IT Professionals
Internet Explorer 8 offers new features designed to benefit IT professionals. Some of the features that improve IT network management and deployment include these:

• Slipstream installation*. This enables the deployment of Internet Explorer 8 and customizations as part of the Windows Vista operating system image, eliminating the need to install the browser separately. When Internet Explorer 8 is deployed in this way, it will behave as part of Windows Vista and cannot be uninstalled by users, thereby improving desktop consistency and manageability.
• Simplified Internet Explorer Administration Kit (IEAK)*. The Internet Explorer Administration Kit has a new user interface that helps IT professionals more easily configure deployment settings for Internet Explorer. This feature will be available as a beta in English timed with Internet Explorer 8 beta 2. The IEAK will support Internet Explorer 8 as it expands into additional languages once it is released to the public.
• Group Policy enhancements*. More than 100 new Group Policy settings ease browser deployment, configuration and customization. Examples of settings that can be managed in this way include specifying the browser’s default rendering mode, configuring accelerators and search providers, controlling the behavior of the SmartScreen filter, or controlling access to the browser’s integrated developer tools.

Faster, Easier Development With Developer Platform Enhancements
In addition to significant advances in standards support, Internet Explorer 8 contains additional platform investments for developers. Internet Explorer 8 improves performance in many Internet Explorer subsystems, such as the HTML parser, cascading style sheet (CSS) rule processing, markup tree manipulation, the JScript parser, garbage collector runtime and memory management to help Web developers build compelling sites more easily. Additional developer investments include these:

• CSS 2.1. Upon final release, Internet Explorer 8 will have full support for the CSS 2.1 specification. With support for CSS 2.1, Web developers and designers can write their pages once and have them more easily render properly across different browsers.
• Document object model (DOM) and HTML 4.01 improvements. Internet Explorer 8 fixes many cross-browser inconsistencies such as get/set/remove Attribute, default attributes, Attribute object and the <Q> tag.
• Emerging standards. Internet Explorer 8 incorporates advancements for what will become the standards of tomorrow, such as W3C’s HTML 5 Draft DOM Storage standard and the Web API Working Group’s Selectors API.
• New navigation features for asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) applications. Developers can now update the browser back and forward navigation stack and Address Bar from their AJAX application so those browser features work correctly in an AJAX application.
• Acid2. Internet Explorer 8 renders the Acid2 browser test correctly.
• Compatibility. Internet Explorer 8 ships with a more standards-compatible layout engine that allows developers to build a single standards-based site for multiple browsers. To provide developers with the choice for when they migrate their sites to the new standards-compliant layout engine, Internet Explorer 8 enables Web developers to ask for the Internet Explorer 7 layout engine by inserting a simple <meta> tag into their code or by adding a single http header on their servers.
• Developer tools*. The tools formerly available via the Internet Explorer Developer Toolbar are built directly into Internet Explorer 8 with expanded functionality. These tools enable developers to quickly debug HTML, CSS and JScript in a visual environment. Developers can quickly identify and resolve issues because of the deep insight the tool provides into the DOM.

Reach Beyond the Page With New Features
Internet Explorer 8 allows users to reach beyond the page and bring the variety of online services to life. Several ways that Internet Explorer can bring online services to life include these:

• Accelerators. Accelerators, which were called Activities in beta 1, give users ready access to the online services they care about most from any page they visit, and developers gain an easy way to extend the reach of their online services. They allow users to browse faster by allowing them to launch online services without having to leave the current Web page.
• Web Slices*. Developers can mark parts of Web pages as Web Slices and enable users to monitor information they rely on as they move about the Web. With a click in the Favorites bar, users see rich Web Slice visuals and developers establish a valuable end-user connection.
• Enhanced Search Box*. The Search Box in Internet Explorer 8 is more helpful, making it easier for users to find content of interest and increasing the odds that search results will be relevant. As users type a search term, they can see real-time search suggestions, including images, from their chosen search provider. In addition, the Search Box now presents results from the user’s own Favorites and browsing history.

The Most Secure Version of Internet Explorer to Date
Today’s online threat attack vectors have evolved dramatically, but people still need to trust they can browse securely. Internet Explorer 8 enhances customers’ online confidence by providing an increased ability to control and protect their data. Internet Explorer 8 is delivering an end-to-end approach to security and privacy that is focused on social engineering, new defenses against Web server attacks and additional improvements to defend browser-based exploits. Several security and privacy investments found in Internet Explorer 8 include these:

• InPrivate Browsing*. When activated, InPrivate Browsing ensures that history, temporary Internet files and cookies are not recorded on a user’s PC after browsing.
• InPrivate Blocking*. InPrivate Blocking helps protect privacy by offering the user the ability to block content coming from third parties that are in a position to track and aggregate their online behavior. Users are provided with notice, choice and control of which third parties to allow and which ones to block.
• Compatibility View*. Some Web sites that are designed for older browsers may not display correctly in Internet Explorer 8, which, by default renders content in the most standards-compliant way possible. Internet Explorer 8 has a Compatibility View button that displays those pages as they were designed to be viewed, providing people with an easy way to fix display problems such as out-of-place menus, images and text.
• Crash recovery*. In Internet Explorer 8, if a tab does crash, it is automatically restored and reloaded, and any information the user may have already entered on the page (such as when writing an e-mail or filling out a form) is restored.
• Delete Browsing History. Internet Explorer 8 enhances the Delete Browsing History feature by providing users with the ability to delete some cookies, history and other data while preserving cookies, history and other data for their favorite sites.
• SmartScreen filter*. Built upon the Microsoft Phishing Filter, the SmartScreen filter helps protect against a broader set of phishing threats and helps protect from sites that attempt to download malicious software.
• Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) filter*. XSS attacks have emerged as a leading exploit against Web servers and Web applications. Internet Explorer 8 has an XSS filter that is able to dynamically detect Type-1 XSS (reflection) attacks. This helps protect users and systems from attacks that can lead to information disclosure, cookie stealing, account/identity theft or otherwise masquerading as the user without permission.
• Data execution prevention (DEP). DEP, on by default in Internet Explorer 8 in Windows Vista Service Pack 1, is a security feature that can help prevent damage to your computer from viruses and other security threats by preventing certain types of code from writing to executable memory space.
• Cross-document messaging (XDM). XDM provides a highly secure method that allows different documents to communicate with each other given mutual consent. XDM is a simple, standards-based, high-performance mechanism for bidirectional cross-document communication.
• Cross-domain requests (XDR). Cross-domain communication is an integral part of AJAX development and mashup applications. Internet Explorer 8 includes support for XDomainRequest objects, which can be used to more securely request public resources from another domain’s server. Cross-domain data is available only when the server signals its explicit intent to share data across domains, helping protect legacy servers from attack.
• Domain highlighting. Internet Explorer 8 highlights the domain name of the URL string in the Address Bar in bold text, making it easier for users to tell which site they are on and aid them in identifying phishing sites and other deceptive sites. The domain name is in black, standing out from other characters in the URL, which are gray.
• Per-site ActiveX. Per-site ActiveX reduces attack surface by providing an implicit SiteLock (a tool for restricting access to a specific domain) so that controls may only run from their point of installation by default. This enables users and administrators to manage where a given ActiveX Control is allowed to run.
• Per-user ActiveX. Per-user ActiveX allows developers to write their ActiveX Controls so that when a user installs them, they are only installed for that user and not for all users on the system, providing a level of protection for other users against malicious or badly written controls.

DOWNLOADS:

http://cid-00da410c7f7e038d.skydrive.live.com/embedrowdetail.aspx/ProductMaterial/InternetExplorer8.0/IE8Evaluators|4Guide-August08.ziphttp://cid-00da410c7f7e038d.skydrive.live.com/embedrowdetail.aspx/ProductMaterial/InternetExplorer8.0/IE8Beta2FactSheet|_FINAL|_8.26.zip

Microsoft® Office Accounting Express is an easy to use accounting package that works with other Office applications you already know.
——————

• Save time on everyday tasks

  • Get started in minutes with a step by step interview wizard
  • Create invoices, track time and expenses and bank online
  • Enter data once and share it seamlessly with other Microsoft Office system programs
  • Manage payroll and accept credit cards with affordable add-on services that save you time and money

• Get a complete view of your business

  • See customer, vendor, employee and financial data in one place
  • Get business insights with customizable reports
  • Easily share your books with your accountant through Office Live

• Grow your business online

• List items on eBay, manage sales and download transactions
• Email invoices and get paid faster with PayPal
• Process credit card payments directly in Office Accounting

DOWNLOAD:  http://www.ideawins.com/Express.aspx